Chapter 3 of my open textbook on ‘Teaching in a Digital Age‘ is about theory and practice in teaching for a digital age, which I am still in the process of writing. I have to admit that I approached writing about learning theories with some dread. In particular I was concerned (in order of dread) that:

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

This is why I often say, "When Tony Bates speaks, I listen." ~ lessons from a master!

The Educational Technologist is responsible for working with Subject Matter Experts, faculty and other stakeholders to update, refresh and redesign the multimedia components of online learning experiences for a variety of courses while also supporting online instructors as they teach a course.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

This is a full time face to face job at the University of New England, Portland ME.

a colleague alerted me to an interesting article that turned the usual cell phone policy approach on its head. What if, instead of punishing students for bad behavior, we rewarded them for good conduct?

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

Policies banning the use of cell phones don't work very well. Consider this approach?

We have more tools to record and share videos than ever before. With the tap of an app or click of a link, you and your students can be making videos to tell stories, teach lessons, or to simply entertain.

Today’s students must be prepared to thrive in a constantly evolving technological landscape. The ISTE Standards for Students are designed to empower student voice and ensure that learning is a student-driven process. Connect with other educators in the ISTE Standards Community and learn how to use the standards in the classroom with the ISTE Standards for Students ebook.

After a review of the literature, twenty-eight evaluation instruments currently used to design and review online courses in higher education institutions were collected and divided into categories, based on geographical reach and the type of institution for which they were developed. This study investigates how evaluation instruments used in higher education assess the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, and what other items are addressed in the evaluation of courses

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

This is a research paper comparing 28 different evaluation instruments for assessing online courses.

Education/Experience:Master's degree in Humanities or a Master's degree with 18 graduate semester hours in the discipline from a regionally accredited educational institution.Applied or practical work experience preferred; 2 years teaching or presentation experience a plus.Comfortable with technology and its integration in the classroom.Strong academic and professional record.Experience in a student-centric and hands-on learning environment.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

If you have a Humanities Master's Degree and want to teach online, here's one for you!

A great deal of the perception of CBE is that there are “hundreds of schools” developing programs, often driven by a 2015 Public Agenda survey. What is happening in reality is that hundreds of schools are very cautiously dipping their toes in the CBE waters with no real commitment to make the model work, and they are only playing with courses and individual programs.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

Competency Based Education is a modern response to market demands for education tuned to the marketplace. The recent WGU audit may upset the CBE movement. At a time when so many are calling for change in Higher Education, the impact of this audit may echo for years.

“I’m fascinated by trying to look forward rather than looking at what schools look like now,” said Alan November during a presentation at the conference. November has long been invested in education, first as a teacher and now has a consultant and speaker. He suggests that to fundamentally change, education leaders need to define a new role for learners and then hire teachers who can help nurture those qualities. With that in mind, November proposes seven questions that he thinks should become standard in the interviewing and hiring process.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

I've been working with education technology since the 1980's. I can attest to the reality that schools (and teachers) are slow to change. This article shows how principals can stack the deck when they hire 'future ready teachers'.

Life. It has a habit of getting in the way of the stuff we’re actually meant to be doing. Many students at The Left Bank juggle studies around full time work and family, not to mention sleep, socialising and all…

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

Students, get smart about how to learn online. Teachers, teach your students these Hacks (tips)

You can also save and bookmark this quick visual guide below (based on Curtis Newbold’s original flow chart and redesigned with his permission using Visme) to help you decide whether you can use a specific image or not:

CITL presents these "Online Course-in-a-Box" resources to faculty and instructors who are tasked with developing their own online course with minimal campus support. Online Course-in-a-Box includes online education best practices and the research that supports those best practices, along with templates and other helpful guides.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning offers this very useful set of resources to anyone tasked with creating an online class. Don't miss it!

This is just a brief note to let you know how committed I am to making this a good course. But I can’t do my best teaching without your help. So, I thought I’d share a list of things you can do that will make this a better experience for all of us.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

What a fine way to set the tone at the beginning of the school year. Build a safe community of practice with a welcome letter like this.

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